Introduction
Tigers (scientific name: Panthera tigris) are members of the biological family of cats, a.k.a “Felidae”. The word “Tiger” was first translated from the Greek word ‘Tigris’ meaning ‘arrow’, reflecting the animal’s speed as well as the fact that they’re the most deadly out of the four “big cats” in the Panthera group(lions, leopards, jaguars and tigers). Unfortunately, three of the original nine subspecies (Panthera tigris balica, Panthera tigris sondaica and Panthera tigris virgata) have become extinct during the last decade leaving only six subspecies, (Panthera tigris tigris, Panthera tigris corbetti, Panthera tigris jacksoni, Panthera tigris sumatrae, Panthera tigris amoyensis and Panthera tigris altaica) all of which are endangered or even critically endangered. This report will focus on the Panthera tigris altaica, or Siberian Tiger and outline the subspecies’ habitat and five contrasting structural, behavioral and physiological adaptations the animal needs in order to survive the world today.
Labelled diagram of Siberian tiger, image obtained from bioweb.uwlax.edu/.../characteristics.htm
Taxonomy of Siberian Tiger
Explanation
Kingdom: Animalia
Animals (one of the five kingdoms)
Phylum: Chordata
Animals in which their young are born alive and suckled
Class: Mammalia
Animals that suckle their young
Order: Carnivora
Meat eaters
Family: Felidae
Biological family of cats
Genus: Panthera
One of the four ‘big cats’ (lions, leopards, jaguars and tigers)
Species: Tigris
Scientific name of tigers
Habitat
Picture of the current distribution of Siberian tigers, source obtained from www.animalfactguide.com/.../siberian-tiger/
Tigers were one of the top predators on Earth until humans invented weapons to defeat them. Siberian tigers use to range from Eastern China all the way to the Middle East and in parts of Russia. Unfortunately due to excessive poaching over the past decades, the population of Siberian tigers has decreased dramatically to a point where there are more Siberian tigers in captivity than in the wild.
An example of where Siberian tigers live, image obtained from www.treknature.com/gallery/photo149222.htm
Example of where Siberian tigers live, image obtained from picturesoftiger.blogspot.com/
Fortunately, Siberian tigers are able to adapt easily to all kinds of climates, from deserts to the Himalaya lowlands, but they need a few basic needs in order to survive in an area. First, the place must have adequate covering of some sort in order for the Siberian tigers to stalk their prey. It is commonly mistaken that the fur of Siberian tigers can’t help them camouflage themselves but the fact is that the black stripes actually help the tigers blend in to their environment. The Siberian tiger starts the hunt by choosing and then circling a prey until it reaches a place that’s downwind (direction in which the wind blows) to the prey. This process can take up to twenty minutes but the cat will constantly move its head up and down to judge the angle and distance before making the strike. When it has finally mentally considered the best timing and distance, the tiger will charge and aim at the prey’s neck area. If successful, the Siberian tiger will hit the prey with the full force of its body and bring the target to the ground.
Secondly, the area itself must have quite a large supply of prey for the Siberian tigers to hunt. On average, only one in every twenty attacks is successful because unlike cheetahs, Siberian tigers can only make two to three springs before they’ll decide to give up. In addition, if a Siberian tiger is unsuccessful after an attack, animals will issue out warning cries to alert other animals of the tigers’ presence. However, Siberian tigers are very clever animals so will every failure that they encounter, they will learn from it and gain more and more experiences.
Finally, the place must have a lot of water, preferably rivers. Tigers drink approximately 20 gallons of water each day to suit their needs. Unlike other cats, Siberian tigers love water and will look for it whenever they settle onto a new area. Siberian tiger cubs are exposed to water as soon as possible and although the experience may not be a joyful one, the cubs soon adapt and will enjoy following their parents for a swim. Because of that, they are superb swimmers, capable of crossing rivers six to eight kilometres wide with no particular effort so in places like south-east Asia; the Siberian tigers are semi-aquatic and will eat things like turtles and fish. Another use of rivers is for the cooling effect on Siberian tigers. They normally soak themselves for approximately one hour before returning to dry land where the wind will then act as a fan on their wet fur. When the water dries off, the tigers will then soak themselves for another hour again and repeat the process until nightfall or when it’s not hot anymore. But no matter how much Siberian tigers love water; they dislike the feeling of getting water into their eyes and have developed the technique of entering water backwards. Adaptations for Survival
Structural Adaptations Whiskers
Many people don’t really know the true use of whiskers on animals. Some think that the whiskers are just for the look, like the hairstyles of humans or the whiskers on foxeswhile some believe that the whiskers are completely useless. The whiskers on Siberian tigers’ faces basically have three uses;
Expressing Mood,
Aid in the catching of prey and
Navigation
When a Siberian tiger is in a neutral mood, the whiskers would be turning down or at right angles to the face of the tiger.
Siberian tiger in netural mood, image obtained from dummidumbwit.wordpress.com/tag/illinois/
However, when it’s angry, its whiskers would be spread out and it would snarl at you.........
Siberian tiger angry, image obtained from www.flickr.com/photos/pixelstate/1237561951/
In addition, when the Siberian tiger stalks its prey it needs to choose an appropriate location before striking. The whiskers of Siberian tigers are able to detect tiny changes in the wind direction so they can always make sure that their position is the most ideal for attacking. Moreover, when Siberian tigers are about to bite onto the neck area of a prey, the whiskers are brought forward so that the tiger is certain that they have bitten onto the correct area. After they know that they have bitten onto the lethal place, the whiskers will then be able to sense if the prey is dead or not.
Finally, the whiskers act as a “GPS” for the Siberian tigers. While the tigers are walking, their whiskers are brought forward in order to increase the sensibility. As the tiger goes near an object, the changes in air pressure will be noticed by the whiskers and the tiger will move out of the way.
Many animals have whiskers as well but the environmental pressure that could have led to this adaptation would be if the Siberian tigers don’t have whiskers, they won’t be able to stalk its prey or even know if they’re being followed by a predator. They need whiskers just like humans need nerves to feel and sense objects.
Sharp teeth
The teeth of Siberian tigers is the most powerful weapon that they posses. Without teeth, Siberian tigers will probably be extinct in one week. A normal Siberian tiger will have about thirty teeth which are all used for slicing meat and they are split into four categories: canines, incisors, premolars and molars.
Digram of Siberian tiger's teeth, image obtained from www.queervisions.com/.../
The canines are mainly used for the killing bite in hunting. Siberian tigers’ upper canines are 2.5 to 3 inches long, which are the largest of all the big cats. Since the upper and lower canines are so thick and long, as long as the tigers bite onto their prey, the prey will normally die from mass bleeding later on.
The incisors are small and sharp which is perfect for grasping onto prey and tearing out meat. The incisors are also used to tear apart the strong hide of sambars or buffaloes. Finally, the premolars and molars are used for tearing and chewing meat. The teeth are just like a pair of scissors which can easily slice through meat.
Like all tigers, Siberian tigers don’t attack humans unless necessary. They prefer to attack prey like deer and buffaloes because they have a lot of meat but when they grow old or lose too many teeth and can’t catch big preys, they will turn into man-eaters. A possible environmental pressure for the Siberian tigers obtaining the adaptation would be for hunting prey larger than themselves as well as self defence even when they grow old.
Behavioural Adaptations
Territory
Siberian tigers are extremely territorial and dislike other tigers entering their area unless reproducing. On average, male Siberian tigers will require 60 to 100 km2 of land while female Siberian tigers will only need about 20 km2 of land. The territory of male tigers will normally overlap with the territory of female tigers to aid in reproduction. Unlike humans, Siberian tigers don’t have rules to their territory but share excellent courtesy towards each other. For example, after a male Siberian catches a prey, he will let the female and cubs dine first before finishing off the meal.
Fully grown Siberian tigers are able to live completely by themselves but cubs rely heavily on their mother to look after them. When female cubs start to form their own territory, they stick close to their mother until they have to live elsewhere. On the other hand, male cubs will wander away at an early age and will either establish his own small territory of stay in another male’s territory until he is mature enough to challenge to old resident. Male tigers usually accept the male cubs as they hope that other males will do the same for their sons.
To claim a territory, Siberian tigers mark surrounding trees by spraying anal gland secretions and urine to tell other tigers that the area had been taken and to go elsewhere to live. If a Siberian tiger likes an area, he will sometimes fight for it but normally they will find another unoccupied place to live. A possible environmental pressure that lead to the adaptation would be the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’. If the Siberian tigers didn’t learn to go out and form their own territory, they will never learn to live by themselves and have to share land with other animals. Thus, by learning to obtain their own territory, they are able to hunt freely and maintain their power over other animals.
Reproduction
When a female Siberian tiger is ready to reproduce, she leaves tracks of urine and other things at the boarder of her area to indicate other males to mate with her. The female tiger will also make sounds to attract the attention of male tigers. If none of those work, the female tiger will walk out of her territory and seek partners.
When a female Siberian tiger finally meets a male Siberian tiger, they will communicate with each other for a while before starting to copulate. Siberian tigers are never homosexuals so the female won’t have to worry about anything! If a second male comes along, the first male Siberian tiger will try to chase him away before having a fight with him and the strongest one will stay while the other must go or die.
After they have copulated, the two tigers will return to their respective area and continue with their daily activities. After about 103 days, the female Siberian tiger will give birth to 2 to 9 cubs in protected places like caves or tunnels at 10 to 20 minute intervals. After giving birth, the female tiger will normally eat the umbilical cord, the placenta and amniotic sac to earn some more energy. For the first 2 litters, the female tiger will have no experience in looking after her cubs and will normally go hunting and leave the cubs unprotected. Only after the third litter will the female tiger be experienced and look after the cubs expertly.
A possible environmental pressure that led to the adaptation of reproduction would be that if the females never looked for partners, she wouldn't be able to have any offspring to protect her territory. Only by producing more offspring and gaining from each litter can the Siberian tigers learn to start to learn their own family.
Physiological Adaptation Stomach
Siberian tigers are carnivores and consume about 40 pounds of meat and fat after a kill. Unfortunately, not every hunt is successful to them so they need to save as much food as possible until the next meal. Siberian tigers’ stomachs are specially adapted in order to store as well as process food. The meat and fat enter the stomach through the oesophagus. The stomach will then produce a concentrated hydrochloric acid to slowly break down the fat and meat. After that, the orbicular muscle releases a small amount of the broken down food at regular intervals for the body to absorb. Since only a small amount of the broken down fat and meat is needed to provide energy for the Siberian tigers, they are able to survive for days after a successful hunt.
The most obvious environment pressure that led to this adaptation would be lack of food. If the tigers’ stomach didn’t store food for later use, the tigers would have all starved to death.
Future Animal- Predator Tigers>>>SIBERIAN TIGERS
Introduction
Tigers (scientific name: Panthera tigris) are members of the biological family of cats, a.k.a “Felidae”. The word “Tiger” was first translated from the Greek word ‘Tigris’ meaning ‘arrow’, reflecting the animal’s speed as well as the fact that they’re the most deadly out of the four “big cats” in the Panthera group(lions, leopards, jaguars and tigers). Unfortunately, three of the original nine subspecies (Panthera tigris balica, Panthera tigris sondaica and Panthera tigris virgata) have become extinct during the last decade leaving only six subspecies, (Panthera tigris tigris, Panthera tigris corbetti, Panthera tigris jacksoni, Panthera tigris sumatrae, Panthera tigris amoyensis and Panthera tigris altaica) all of which are endangered or even critically endangered. This report will focus on the Panthera tigris altaica, or Siberian Tiger and outline the subspecies’ habitat and five contrasting structural, behavioral and physiological adaptations the animal needs in order to survive the world today.
Habitat
Tigers were one of the top predators on Earth until humans invented weapons to defeat them. Siberian tigers use to range from Eastern China all the way to the Middle East and in parts of Russia. Unfortunately due to excessive poaching over the past decades, the population of Siberian tigers has decreased dramatically to a point where there are more Siberian tigers in captivity than in the wild.
Secondly, the area itself must have quite a large supply of prey for the Siberian tigers to hunt. On average, only one in every twenty attacks is successful because unlike cheetahs, Siberian tigers can only make two to three springs before they’ll decide to give up. In addition, if a Siberian tiger is unsuccessful after an attack, animals will issue out warning cries to alert other animals of the tigers’ presence. However, Siberian tigers are very clever animals so will every failure that they encounter, they will learn from it and gain more and more experiences.
Finally, the place must have a lot of water, preferably rivers. Tigers drink approximately 20 gallons of water each day to suit their needs. Unlike other cats, Siberian tigers love water and will look for it whenever they settle onto a new area. Siberian tiger cubs are exposed to water as soon as possible and although the experience may not be a joyful one, the cubs soon adapt and will enjoy following their parents for a swim. Because of that, they are superb swimmers, capable of crossing rivers six to eight kilometres wide with no particular effort so in places like south-east Asia; the Siberian tigers are semi-aquatic and will eat things like turtles and fish. Another use of rivers is for the cooling effect on Siberian tigers. They normally soak themselves for approximately one hour before returning to dry land where the wind will then act as a fan on their wet fur. When the water dries off, the tigers will then soak themselves for another hour again and repeat the process until nightfall or when it’s not hot anymore. But no matter how much Siberian tigers love water; they dislike the feeling of getting water into their eyes and have developed the technique of entering water backwards.
Adaptations for Survival
Structural Adaptations
Whiskers
Many people don’t really know the true use of whiskers on animals. Some think that the whiskers are just for the look, like the hairstyles of humans or the whiskers on foxeswhile some believe that the whiskers are completely useless. The whiskers on Siberian tigers’ faces basically have three uses;
When a Siberian tiger is in a neutral mood, the whiskers would be turning down or at right angles to the face of the tiger.
However, when it’s angry, its whiskers would be spread out and it would snarl at you.........
In addition, when the Siberian tiger stalks its prey it needs to choose an appropriate location before striking. The whiskers of Siberian tigers are able to detect tiny changes in the wind direction so they can always make sure that their position is the most ideal for attacking. Moreover, when Siberian tigers are about to bite onto the neck area of a prey, the whiskers are brought forward so that the tiger is certain that they have bitten onto the correct area. After they know that they have bitten onto the lethal place, the whiskers will then be able to sense if the prey is dead or not.
Finally, the whiskers act as a “GPS” for the Siberian tigers. While the tigers are walking, their whiskers are brought forward in order to increase the sensibility. As the tiger goes near an object, the changes in air pressure will be noticed by the whiskers and the tiger will move out of the way.
Many animals have whiskers as well but the environmental pressure that could have led to this adaptation would be if the Siberian tigers don’t have whiskers, they won’t be able to stalk its prey or even know if they’re being followed by a predator. They need whiskers just like humans need nerves to feel and sense objects.
Sharp teeth
The teeth of Siberian tigers is the most powerful weapon that they posses. Without teeth, Siberian tigers will probably be extinct in one week. A normal Siberian tiger will have about thirty teeth which are all used for slicing meat and they are split into four categories: canines, incisors, premolars and molars.
The incisors are small and sharp which is perfect for grasping onto prey and tearing out meat. The incisors are also used to tear apart the strong hide of sambars or buffaloes. Finally, the premolars and molars are used for tearing and chewing meat. The teeth are just like a pair of scissors which can easily slice through meat.
Like all tigers, Siberian tigers don’t attack humans unless necessary. They prefer to attack prey like deer and buffaloes because they have a lot of meat but when they grow old or lose too many teeth and can’t catch big preys, they will turn into man-eaters. A possible environmental pressure for the Siberian tigers obtaining the adaptation would be for hunting prey larger than themselves as well as self defence even when they grow old.
Behavioural Adaptations
Territory
Siberian tigers are extremely territorial and dislike other tigers entering their area unless reproducing. On average, male Siberian tigers will require 60 to 100 km2 of land while female Siberian tigers will only need about 20 km2 of land. The territory of male tigers will normally overlap with the territory of female tigers to aid in reproduction. Unlike humans, Siberian tigers don’t have rules to their territory but share excellent courtesy towards each other. For example, after a male Siberian catches a prey, he will let the female and cubs dine first before finishing off the meal.
Fully grown Siberian tigers are able to live completely by themselves but cubs rely heavily on their mother to look after them. When female cubs start to form their own territory, they stick close to their mother until they have to live elsewhere. On the other hand, male cubs will wander away at an early age and will either establish his own small territory of stay in another male’s territory until he is mature enough to challenge to old resident. Male tigers usually accept the male cubs as they hope that other males will do the same for their sons.
To claim a territory, Siberian tigers mark surrounding trees by spraying anal gland secretions and urine to tell other tigers that the area had been taken and to go elsewhere to live. If a Siberian tiger likes an area, he will sometimes fight for it but normally they will find another unoccupied place to live. A possible environmental pressure that lead to the adaptation would be the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’. If the Siberian tigers didn’t learn to go out and form their own territory, they will never learn to live by themselves and have to share land with other animals. Thus, by learning to obtain their own territory, they are able to hunt freely and maintain their power over other animals.
Reproduction
When a female Siberian tiger is ready to reproduce, she leaves tracks of urine and other things at the boarder of her area to indicate other males to mate with her. The female tiger will also make sounds to attract the attention of male tigers. If none of those work, the female tiger will walk out of her territory and seek partners.
When a female Siberian tiger finally meets a male Siberian tiger, they will communicate with each other for a while before starting to copulate. Siberian tigers are never homosexuals so the female won’t have to worry about anything! If a second male comes along, the first male Siberian tiger will try to chase him away before having a fight with him and the strongest one will stay while the other must go or die.
After they have copulated, the two tigers will return to their respective area and continue with their daily activities. After about 103 days, the female Siberian tiger will give birth to 2 to 9 cubs in protected places like caves or tunnels at 10 to 20 minute intervals. After giving birth, the female tiger will normally eat the umbilical cord, the placenta and amniotic sac to earn some more energy. For the first 2 litters, the female tiger will have no experience in looking after her cubs and will normally go hunting and leave the cubs unprotected. Only after the third litter will the female tiger be experienced and look after the cubs expertly.
A possible environmental pressure that led to the adaptation of reproduction would be that if the females never looked for partners, she wouldn't be able to have any offspring to protect her territory. Only by producing more offspring and gaining from each litter can the Siberian tigers learn to start to learn their own family.
Physiological Adaptation
Stomach
Siberian tigers are carnivores and consume about 40 pounds of meat and fat after a kill. Unfortunately, not every hunt is successful to them so they need to save as much food as possible until the next meal. Siberian tigers’ stomachs are specially adapted in order to store as well as process food. The meat and fat enter the stomach through the oesophagus. The stomach will then produce a concentrated hydrochloric acid to slowly break down the fat and meat. After that, the orbicular muscle releases a small amount of the broken down food at regular intervals for the body to absorb. Since only a small amount of the broken down fat and meat is needed to provide energy for the Siberian tigers, they are able to survive for days after a successful hunt.
The most obvious environment pressure that led to this adaptation would be lack of food. If the tigers’ stomach didn’t store food for later use, the tigers would have all starved to death.
Bibliography
1. Tiger territory. (2001). Characteristics of tigers. Retrieved July 2, 2010 from http://www.lairweb.org.nz/tiger/characteristics.html
2. Plos Biology. (2010). Phylogeography and Genetic Ancestry of Tigers. Retrieved July 2, 2010 from http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0020442
3. Tigers World. (2009). Information and facts about tigers. Retrieved July 3, 2010 from http://www.tigers-world.com/